


A Little Bit of Magic

by roseandheather



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-23 12:08:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8327266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseandheather/pseuds/roseandheather
Summary: The only person at Hogwarts apparently unaware of the undeniable sexual chemistry blooming between best friends, aspiring Healers, and inseparable co-conspirators Serena McKinnie and Bernie Wolfe is, in fact, Bernie herself.This is starting to make Serena rather cross.Featuring Slytherin!Serena as Head Girl, Gryffindor!Bernie as Quidditch captain, one rather badly placed Bludger, and just a little bit of magic.Oh yeah, and sex. That, too. There is that undeniable sexual chemistry, after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Berena Hogwarts AU you neither asked for nor wanted.
> 
> I wrote it anyway and I'm not sorry.
> 
> Massive thanks to suicidallyreckless, who had to break my addiction to compound sentences with Mjolnir whilst listening to me throw toddler-style tantrums about it.
> 
> I still hate you. <3

_Unbelievable,_ Serena seethes, dodging a gawking pack of second-years and sweeping past a couple of Hufflepuffs snogging in a corner. **_He_** _cheats on_ ** _me_** _, tries to act like he's sorry, then comes crawling back six bloody months later when he's tired of his latest conquest? I don't_ ** _think_** _so!_

Still scowling thunderously, she Banishes Peeves - about to dump a bucket of slime on a few hapless first-year Ravenclaws - without even having to look round, then ducks behind a suit of armour and chances a quick glance down the hallway.

"Serena!" a familiar voice echoes, and she nearly sobs in frustration.

_I suppose I have to deal with him sooner or later._

"For the last time, the answer is _no!_ "

Edward pulls up in front of her, chest heaving, and Serena takes a vicious and very Slytherin satisfaction in his flaming cheeks and sweat-dewed forehead.

"Come on, 'Rena," he pleads, half panting. "You know you want to give me another chance!"

"After you cheated on me with a _fourth-year?_ " Serena hisses in disbelief, every muscle in her body taut and trembling. "I don't think so, Campbell!"

"But 'Rena -"

"I believe Miss McKinnie has made her disinterest quite clear," says a freezing and wonderfully familiar voice. "I suggest you leave before one of the professors happens upon you bothering our Head Girl."

_Bernie._

Everything in Serena relaxes at once. She doesn't even have to look round to see the person behind her; from the messy blonde curls and mud-splattered Quidditch robes in Gryffindor red and gold to the Beater bat casually propped against her shoulder, Berenice Wolfe's presence is unmistakable.

Edward glares at both of them, then slinks off. If Serena squints hard enough, she can almost _see_ the tail tucked between his legs.

Grinning a bit madly, Serena turns around. "My knight in muddy Quidditch robes?" she asks teasingly, and Bernie flushes.

"If you like," she says softly, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "I'm just sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Nonsense," says Serena dismissively, linking her elbow with Bernie's and drawing her down the corridor. "I can handle Edward Campbell, the slimy git. Not that I wasn't grateful for the rescue, mind; just because I _can_ doesn't mean I _want_ to. Coming to the library?"

"Yes, of course. I just need to change and shower."

"Yes, you do," says Serena, wrinkling her nose.

Bernie playfully shoves her into the nearest wall, where Serena collapses in giggles.

~*~

"It's hopeless," Bernie groans some time later, shoving her Charms textbook forcefully away from her and burying her head in her hands. "I'm never going to get this."

Serena rolls up the sleeves of her green-and-silver jumper and sets her Ancient Runes essay aside. "Nonsense. What are you having trouble with?"

"All of it! You _know_ me, Serena, you know Charms has never been my forte! All the delicate swishing and precise spellwork. I'm no good at it! I swear, if I didn't want to be an Auror-medic so badly - "

Serena tugs her chair round the table to sit next to Bernie. "But you wouldn't want to be anything else. And you're absolutely capable of this, Bern. Here, let me show you - "

Some thirty minutes later Bernie sighs in relief, reaching out to briefly squeeze Serena's fingers. "You're an angel. I don't know how I'd survive this without you."

"Badly," says Serena, deadpan, and Bernie muffles her laughter in the sleeve of her own jumper.

When Bernie has finished her Charms essay and Serena is most of the way through her Arithmancy work, Serena sighs. "Come on. We'd better get going, or we'll miss dinner."

" _Food,_ " says Bernie gratefully, shoving her books and parchment haphazardly into her bag and grabbing Serena's hand. "Are we meeting up again after dinner?"

Serena deliberately doesn't mention the fact that Bernie still has her hand in an iron grip; instead she gently rubs her thumb over Bernie's calloused fingers. "Can't. I have a meeting with Henrik tonight."

"Oh." Bernie's face falls, and Serena has to repress the sudden urge to kiss a smile back onto her best friend's face.

"Cheer up," Serena says encouragingly. "It's Friday tomorrow, that means we have all our classes together!"

Thankfully, the light comes back into Bernie's eyes. "The benefits of NEWT level. Meet you for breakfast?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

As she heads to the Slytherin table, not for the first time, Serena wishes it didn't hurt so much to let go.

~*~

"Bernie, this is pointless."

"It is not." Bernie crosses her arms and glares. "I get why you didn't want to take DADA beyond NEWT level, but for Merlin's sake, Serena, the Battle of Hogwarts didn't eliminate Dementors as a threat, and since we don't use them to guard Azkaban any more, they're even worse! This is _important."_

Looking into Bernie's eyes, Serena finds all her resistance crumbling. "Bern -"

"Serena, don't make me sit next to your bedside at St Mungo's and blame myself for not pushing this." Her gaze steady and sure, Bernie holds her eyes. "You can _do_ this, Serena."

"Fine," says Serena at last. " _Fine._ " She grips her wand, feeling the slight hum of power as the wood vibrates softly in her grip; she swishes and flicks, then cries " _Expecto Patronum!_ " with all the force she can muster.

A soft, silver puff from the end of her wand is the only result.

"Good!" Bernie says encouragingly. "I couldn't even do that my first time. But your movements need to be crisper, see? Like this."

When Bernie cries the spell, a rush of silver fog immediately coalesces into the unmistakable form of a hedgehog. The little animal gambols around the room for a few moments before it comes up to nose Serena's face gently, and then it dissolves into the aether.

Serena sighs, and Bernie looks at her, brown eyes worried. "Serena, what are you using as your happy thought?"

Startled, Serena looks up. "The day I got named Head Girl."

Bernie shakes her head. "It can't be a single moment, Serena. It needs to be... something ongoing. Something that still has an impact on your life, every day."

For a moment, Serena doesn't want to go there. To use _that?_ To use....

She can't. She simply can't. Can't open herself to the inevitable questions; can't risk betraying the one secret that she knows would send her commitment-shy best friend bolting for the hills.

As her wand trembles in her hand, she darts her gaze to the girl in question. Bernie's doelike eyes are shining, her faith in Serena's capabilities written in the soft curve of her lips, in the glow of her cheeks and the hope in her eyes.

But this is for Bernie.

Bernie, who has been her best friend since they properly met in the prefects' carriage on the Hogwarts Express in fifth year. Bernie, who she doesn't go more than a few hours without seeing during the school year, and a few days without during the summer. Bernie, her dearest confidante and counsel, always there, always constant, willing to show Serena a side of herself so few others ever see. Bernie, whose steady, intense, confident gaze makes her feel like she can fly without a broomstick.

Bernie, so sensitive and shy, cloaking her vulnerability in the armour of courage and bravado. Bernie, so slow to trust, so frustrating and reserved, so inclined to run...

Bernie, who always, in the end, comes back to her.

Bernie, whose every smile makes her heart soar...

" _Expecto Patronum!"_

The sudden rush of magic takes them both by surprise, a silver eruption that swirls and dances through the air until it settles into an unmistakable, _corporeal_ form.

"Oh, Serena," Bernie says softly, studying the silvery fox in heartfelt, undisguised wonder. "She's _beautiful._ "

The fox - _my Patronus,_ Serena thinks, with not a little wonder of her own - nuzzles Serena softly, then does the same to Bernie, who gives such a soft, unguarded smile that Serena's heart clenches painfully in her chest.

"Yes," she murmurs at last. "She is."

~*~

"Serena!" Bernie hisses in disbelief. "You're not supposed to be down here! What _will_ they say - the Slytherin Head Girl wishing Gryffindor's Captain good luck before the biggest match of the year?"

"Sod that," says Serena crisply, reaching up to pull Bernie - Beater's bat and all - into a fervent hug. "You didn't think I'd break tradition now, did you?"

"You _are_ a rebel," Bernie says admiringly, smiling down at her, blonde fringe flopping into her eyes.

"Takes one to know one!"

"My kind of girl," the blonde murmurs, and holds Serena's gaze for endless, aching seconds.

For a moment, Serena can't breathe - but then Bernie tears her gaze away, her cheeks flushed, and gently extracts herself from Serena's arms. "I'd better go," she says hoarsely.

Without another word, she vanishes back into the locker room.

Serena slumps against the wall of the stadium, the pent-up air in her lungs coming out in a rush.

~*~

She's seated in the stands next to Henrik Hanssen, screaming her lungs out and generally making an abject nuisance of herself. Bernie isn't hard to track, her messy knot of curls shining like sunlight, but she moves _fast._ (Though not, Serena will admit, as fast as Dom Copeland, who is nothing but a green-and-silver blur as he whisks around the pitch in search of the Snitch. Silently, she asks Dom to give her just a _little_ more time. She never can get her fill of watching Bernie like this.)

"Who are you cheering for, exactly?" Henrik mutters in her ear, a wicked smile on his face.

Scowling, Serena elbows her fellow Head in his too-bony ribs. "My team, of course."

"Mm. Is that the team that includes the players from your House, or the team that includes your Bernie?"

"Yes," says Serena. "Wait - what do you mean _my_ Bernie?"

Henrik, damn him, just rolls his eyes. "I mean your alleged best friend, at whom you have been making truly ridiculous calf eyes since you broke up with that tosser Campbell last year," he says calmly. "Honestly, Serena, there are Muggles in Australia wondering when the two of you are going to sort yourselves out."

"You speak as though there's something _to_ sort out," says Serena with a scowl. "For all I can tell, she's as interested in me as she would be in a - in a lamp-post!"

Serena never does find out what Henrik would have said to that, because she's too busy looking up at the pitch in horror. Deep in her bones is the nauseating sense of _wrong,_ but she doesn't know why until she sees the Bludger rocketing down the pitch - directly on a collision course with little Morven Shreve's curly, wind-tossed head.

Out of the sky above Morven rockets a red-and-gold blur. She's coming in high and steep, in a dive that nobody should have been able to control, and there's no _time._

Just feet away from a horrified Morven, the Bludger takes Bernie full in the ribs.

Serena is screaming before she's aware of it, leaping out of the stands and tumbling more than running down the bleachers. High above her Ric Griffin, guarding the Slytherin goals, has bellowed for a time-out, but Serena is only vaguely aware of it; all she knows is that Bernie is falling, _falling_ from ninety meters up, and she can't -

But then, Ric catches her eye.

In the months and years ahead, Serena will never stop being grateful that, for all their sparring, she and her Housemate can read each other like the proverbial open book. He doesn't have to say a word; he just nods, and as one, he and Serena pull out their wands and fire.

Ric's suspensor spell catches Bernie half a second before Serena's Body-Bind, flung on instinct and months of basic Healer training. By the time she makes it to the pitch - jumping the barrier and hurtling onto the field heedless of anyone and everyone - he has gently eased her down toward the grass, where he carefully lowers her into Serena's waiting arms.

With shaking hands, Serena lowers Bernie's unconscious form to the grass, then cradles blonde curls and the stubbornest head on two continents between her hands. "You _idiot_ ," she chokes. "You brave, beautiful, self-sacrificing _idiot_."

"Miss McKinnie," a soft male voice says gently. "It's all right now."

Serena looks up over her shoulder into the kind face of Professor Longbottom, Bernie's Head of House, and collapses in a helpless storm of tears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear _God_ y'all are an insanely welcoming and enthusiastic bunch. :D I'm not replying to comments for personal reasons, but they are wholly and entirely welcome, delighted in, cuddled, and treasured.
> 
> Ongoing thanks, of course, to suicidallyreckless, whose reward for making this readable is an unending stream of abuse, tantrums, complaints, and declarations of how much I hate her.
> 
> Still hate you. <3

"Serena."

She knows the hand on her shoulder as well as she knows her own, and turns blindly into its comfort. Henrik wraps her in his arms, hugging her close, and Serena clings to him just as she had half a lifetime ago, when she was a scared, homesick first-year and he was the only true friend she had.

"There, _hjärtat,_ " he murmurs in her ear. "I've got you. It's all right, Serena."

Dimly she's aware of being swept into his arms, and sobs herself dry on his shoulder as he carries her to the Hospital Wing.

Her eyes hurt by the time Henrik sets her down, but she pays no attention. She hasn't got time for that when Bernie -  _my Bernie, oh God_ \- is lying on a hospital bed, stiff from Serena's own Body-Bind. Madam Pomfrey gives her an approving pat on the shoulder as she enters, surveying her patient and murmuring 'Well done'. A distant part of Serena recites,  _'The casting of a Body-Bind curse on a severely injured witch or wizard prevents unnecessary jostling or trauma to damaged bones and organs, and will minimise further damage during transport to hospital.'_

Another, much louder part of her cries,  _Help her!_

Shaken and powerless, all Serena can do is sit with her knees squashed between her chair and Bernie's bedside, stroking the soft blonde hair and silently begging Merlin that she'd got there in time.

She doesn't know how long it lasts, watching Madam Pomfrey ghost in and out of the room with poultices and potions. With anyone else, on any other day, she'd have been a barrage of questions: 'What does that potion do?' 'What spell will you use for the broken ribs?' 'How can you tell if any organs have been damaged?' 'What's the estimated recovery time for an injury like this?'

But not today. Today she simply sits, her unblinking eyes focused on Bernie's face, Bernie's chilly _(but no longer rigid, thank God_ ) hand held in both of hers, trying to warm those slender, pale fingers.

Henrik comes in after Pomfrey's finished. He rests a warm, heavy hand on Serena's shoulder; she reaches up to cover his hand with hers and squeezes.

He leaves as silently as he entered.

Henrik is followed by Ric Griffin and the Slytherin team, who are still mud-splattered and sweaty when they stop by. Most say only a few soft words before retreating - more out of respect than shame, Serena thinks - but Ric and Dom stay. Dom pulls up a chair on the other side of Bernie's bed, and even Serena, worried out of her mind, can feel nothing but sympathy at the devastated expression on the fourth-year's face. He reaches out and squeezes Bernie's shoulder, white-knuckled. 

"Get better," he whispers, and says nothing else for quite some time.

Ric simply sits on the end of Bernie's bed, keeping vigil.

As much as she wants to wrap Bernie in cotton wool and hide her away from anyone and everyone else, Serena feels her heart ease a bit at their silent, steadfast support.

Madam Pomfrey, clearly betraying her partiality for her other curious shadow of the year, lets Dom and Ric stay for a full hour before she shoos them away.

"But Serena - " Dom protests, looking back at his Housemate.

Madam Pomfrey sighs. "I'm getting soft in my old age," she mutters, just loud enough for Serena to hear. "But I don't have the heart to separate them." 

Ric clears his throat with a noise that sounds suspiciously like a bittersweet laugh. "Can I bring her dinner, at least?"

"I wouldn't discourage you," Madam Pomfrey says, in a voice Serena recognizes as meaning 'Please do before I have to personally force-feed her.'

Ric makes good on his promise, returning after dinner with a plate of food and a goblet of pumpkin juice. Serena is rather impressed by how well he knows her - there's nothing exotic, only a couple of rolls slathered with butter, a slab of shepherd's pie, and an apple.

Serena seriously considers refusing, but she knows that if she does Madam Pomfrey could quite conceivably make her leave, and that is not an acceptable option.

Ric, to his credit, doesn't push her, only resumes his former seat at the end of Bernie's bed and pulls out his Potions textbook.

Serena at least makes a credible attempt at eating, managing the apple, one of the rolls, and roughly half of the shepherd's pie - which is frankly more than she thought she'd get through. Ric flashes her a brief smile, collects her plate, and vanishes, Serena can only assume to pass on the word of Bernie's relatively improved condition. And, no doubt, to take advantage of Serena's absence from the Common Room to steal her preferred sofa in front of the fireplace.

Serena can't really begrudge him that, even if she wishes she could swap said sofa for her current chair.

Bernie's last visitors for the evening wear Hufflepuff yellow and black and haul along with them a rather enormous bag of sweets.

"We come bearing gifts," Raf Di Lucca says warmly. "How is she, Serena?"

Helplessly, Serena shrugs.

"I see," says Raf, as though she'd actually answered his question - which perhaps she has, she thinks. "And how are  _you,_ 'Rena?"

Finally she looks up at him, and to her horror, her eyes fill with tears.

"Oh," Raf says softly, and bends to hug her tight. "Oh, Serena."

"It hurts," she manages at last, her face in his shoulder.

Fletch, still holding the bag of sweets, holds up a brown lump. "Cauldron cake?" he asks, with something vaguely resembling his usual cheerfulness.

"Oh my," Serena says, tugging herself gently out of Raf's hold. "What  _have_ you two been up to?"

"Tokens of goodwill from the Badger Den," Fletch informs her, a real smile on his face now. "Practically the whole House donated something."

"Hufflepuffs," Serena mutters dazedly, staring at the bag in wonder. "You lot don't do things by halves, do you."

"She's worth it," Fletch says, seriously now. "She's... she's Bernie. She matters."

"Yes," Serena murmurs, reaching out to take Bernie's hand in hers again. "She does."

Raf, blessedly sensing Serena's focus withdrawing, hustles Fletch out a few minutes later, gently patting Serena's back on his way out.

Fortunately, they leave the sweets - Bernie will appreciate that, Serena thinks. They also leave one of Serena's own nightgowns, the origins of which Serena will not ask about. 

Exhausted, she slumps forward, resting her forehead on the bed by Bernie's ribs. Everything aches, and all she wants is sleep. She changes quickly, tweaking the position of Bernie's privacy screen enough to hide her as she swaps her robes for her nightwear. When she curls up on her side in Bernie's bed, it's with her forehead pressed to Bernie's shoulder, and Bernie's hand held in both of hers.

~*~

Serena wakens with the very first brush of light across the sky, blinking her eyes against the pale glow from the window. Bernie has curled up onto her non-injured side, their joined hands tucked between them, their foreheads a scant inch apart. She's still sleeping deeply, for which Serena can only be grateful, no matter how much she wishes she could hear Bernie's voice even once...

Satisfied that all is well, Serena falls back asleep, her forehead touching Bernie's.

~*~

The next time she wakes the sun is high in the sky, and Bernie Wolfe's luminous eyes are gazing into hers.

" _Bernie,_ " Serena chokes, and reaches out to touch one pale cheek. "Thank  _Merlin._ How do you feel?"

"Like a hippogriff kicked me in the chest," Bernie says, her expression softer than Serena has ever seen it. "Serena, have you been here all night?"

"Well, I could hardly leave you, could I?" Serena demands hotly as all the worry and anguish of the previous twelve hours slams into her heart. "You  _stupid_ Gryffindors with your  _honour_ and your  _chivalry -_ oh, Bernie, you terrified the  _life_ out of me!" 

Serena tastes salt on her lips, and abruptly realises that she's crying. Just as she starts to shake, Bernie reaches out to stroke her hair.

"Serena, _Serena_ ," Bernie murmurs, and then sweet lips are touching hers, her cheeks, her forehead, kissing her tears away, and back to her lips again, tender close-mouthed kisses that freeze Serena like a deer caught in wandlight.

Bernie pulls away from her, terror in every line of her face. "Oh, God," she whispers. "Serena, I'm sorry, I didn't mean - well, I  _did_ mean, but I don't expect you to - I'm sorry, I never meant for you to know -"

Serena, whose brain has decided to resume normal function at last, slides her hand into gorgeous blonde curls, cups the back of Bernie's head, and kisses her full on the lips.

It's everything Serena had hoped for, and infinitely more. Bernie kisses her back with tenderness, with passion, with an unspoken love that weakens Serena's bones. Months of longing pour out against Bernie's welcoming lips, in the delighted gasps and breathy moans that spill between them. Serena can't tell which of them is doing what: teeth nip a pouting bottom lip and one of them cries out; the other moans, rich and throaty, as fingers curl and tug in soft, shiny hair. Serena presses close, and closer still. No amount of this can ever be enough, she thinks wildly. She will never get enough of this enchanting, perplexing, incredible girl in her arms, but she will take everything she can and give everything back and pray she never, ever has to let go for a last time. Bernie sobs into Serena's mouth, her fingers tightening in Serena's messy braid, and Serena makes a tender, soothing noise, her thumb wiping absently at the tears leaking from the corners of Bernie's beautiful eyes.

" _Finally,_ " Serena breathes when they part at last, and her face aches from smiling.

Bernie stares at her, poleaxed. 

"I've wanted this for so long," Serena murmurs, nuzzling Bernie's cheek, fingers gently stroking her hair. "Months. Maybe longer. But I didn't know if you - "

"Didn't  _know!_ " Bernie exclaims, trembling all over, laughing and crying at once, seemingly unable to hold Serena close enough. "I should hope not! I never wanted you to know, Serena, I couldn't bear to lose **-** "

"How long?" Serena demands suddenly, too loud in the quiet.

Bernie's lashes flutter, brushing butterfly kisses on Serena's cheek. "Fifth year. The very first day. You looked at me and your face lit up," Bernie murmurs at last. "And that was it. You smiled at me, Serena, and I fell in love with you then and there." 

Serena chokes on her own gasp. "I'm sorry," she whispers, tears welling in her eyes. "I should have seen this so long ago..."

"Oh, Serena, don't cry," Bernie murmurs, gently wiping the tears from Serena's face. "I'm not sorry, not a bit of it. This happened when it was supposed to happen. All right?"

Sniffling, Serena nods, and presses a kiss to Bernie's damp cheek. "I love you too, you know. So much. I'm  _in_ love with you."

Bernie kisses her again, an outpouring of adoration that would have driven Serena to her knees if they'd been standing. Serena kisses her back, sweet and adoring, tender little pecks that evolve into deep, open-mouthed kisses, and Serena only finds the will to pull away when Bernie's tentative, fumbling,  _wonderful_ hand cups her breast.

"Bernie," she says gently, her voice shaking. "Bernie, darling, stop."

Bernie's eyes meet hers, confused and hurt, and Serena rushes to reassure with one last, adoring kiss. "You're still injured," Serena manages breathlessly. "I won't - I  _can't_ -"

Blessedly, the pain dissolves from Bernie's eyes, replaced instead by a wicked, silent promise that makes Serena shiver from head to toe. 

"You're going to be the death of me," she murmurs, tucking herself even closer into Bernie's embrace. "Sleep, Captain,  _now._ Please, before we drive each other mad."

"Too late," Bernie mutters, grinning fit to burst, but she tugs the blankets over both of them, then presses a gentle goodnight kiss to Serena's lips.

Serena falls asleep to the gentle rhythm of Bernie's breath on her face, and smiles all the way to her dreams.


End file.
